Buyuker, B.E., LaRoche, K.J., Bueno, X., Jozkowski, K.N., Crawford. B.L., Turner, R.C., Lo, W. (2022, September 15-September 18). A mixed-methods exploration of attitudes toward abortion and support for the legal precedent of Roe v.Wade. American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting, Quebec, Canada.
Background: Laws can have a significant influence in shaping societal attitudes. For example, in the US, support for same sex marriage increased after the Supreme Court's ruling on marriage equality (Kazyak & Stange, 2018). However, this same trend has not been observed for abortion. While there is broad support for upholding the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in the United States, individual attitudes on abortion are, highly divided. Based on historical series from survey data, this polarization has remained relatively stable over time (Gallup, 2021). Although they are interconnected, the relationship between attitudes toward abortion on the one hand, and support for Roe v. Wade, on the other, remains unclear and still puzzling. To interpret this gap, we examine how the phrasing of survey items – and whether they ask about support for abortion in general or support for the legal precedent of Roe specifically – may evoke different responses. To our knowledge, differences in attitudes about these two distinct, but related issues have not been rigorously explored. In this sequential mixed-methods study, we will use data from two studies to compare different ways of assessing individual attitudes toward abortion and support for Roe v. Wade to elucidate inconsistencies and nuances in current polling measures.
Methods: We conducted an online survey procured by Qualtrics' opt-in panel in 2018. The survey included 6000 English- and Spanish-speaking US adults and was fielded using a non-probability quota-based sampling strategy. We used quotas on language for the survey administration, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and political affiliation to ensure representativeness in these demographic characteristics. The survey included questions about demographic characteristics and five different items assessing attitudes toward abortion and support for the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade. We use Pearson's correlation and Chi-square tests to assess the relationship between these items. Then, following a sequential mixed-methods design, in 2021, we conducted 25 in-depth interviews (15 in English, 10 in Spanish) with US adults from across the country who held diverse opinions about abortion. Interviews lasted approximately 60-90 minutes; the interview protocol was designed to explore the inner complexity of abortion attitudes. We conducted content and thematic analyses to explore how participants' attitudes about abortion in general are related to whether people think abortion should, or should not be, legal.
Preliminary results: Associations between individual level attitudes toward abortion and support for the legal precedent of Roe v Wade is relatively low. The strongest correlation - at 25% - is between identifying as pro-life and holding a strong desire to remove the constitutional right of a woman to choose to have an abortion. This suggests that individual attitudes about abortion do not necessarily translate into support for (or opposition to) Roe v. Wade. Further, support for legal abortion differs across these questions based on whether the question is framed as support for Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to have an abortion, or abortion in general. In line with our quantitative results, interview data show that, although many participants expressed negative sentiments toward abortion, this did not always translate into desiring abortion to be illegal, which is what would happen in many states if Roe v. Wade was overturned. The preliminary analysis confirms such disconnection between individual abortion attitudes and Roe v Wade support. Participants' support for legal abortion was often justified as a desire to avoid unsafe abortion. In addition, for those participants who did want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, few reported wanting there to be legal consequences for a pregnant person seeking an illegal abortion. This demonstrates a second paradox between a desire for abortion to be illegal and a belief that punishment should not be applied to pregnant people obtaining (illegal) abortions.
Implications: When we compared US adults' responses to various survey items about abortion with different framings, we observe differences in reported attitudes toward abortion laws, the constitutional precedent of Roe v. Wade, and abortion in general. In the in-depth interviews, participants indicated these topics are related, echoing the quantitative findings. But for many people, they are also distinct and considered separately. To better understand public opinion about abortion, it is imperative to assess whether the measures that we currently use to capture abortion attitudes are adequate and how related items about abortion that appear to be similar can evoke different attitudes from participants. Elucidating these differences has relevant implications for legislators and policy makers as public opinion data may be used to justify the implementation of certain policies.